Whether a YouTube music video, a Sunday morning watching 'Rage', the CD handed to you by a friend that now skips, or listening to an iTunes song on the bus, the car, or the back of class, it introduces you to a sound that perfectly encapsulates your pre-pubescent churning frustration.
No matter the discovery, the spell worked its magic: the thrumming guitars, combative drums and melodic voice hooked your heart. With this palette of discoveries, fans of Pierce The Veil converged at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion this past weekend for two sold-out nights.
From 9am Friday (10 April), the venue had already garnered a collective of around 60 fans, all eager to secure the best view the Hordern offers – the barricade.
Dressed in vintage wedding dresses, 'King For A Day' suits and handmade tights with the album art from 'Misadventures', the queue transported Sydney momentarily back to the mid 2000s. From the start of the line to the end, eyeliner, side-swept hair and pale face foundation were all the fashion again.
By 6pm doors the crowd was bouncing in place, their tickets in hand and bags pre-prepared for inspection. This energy carried into the venue as people power-walked in typical Kath and Kim style ("no running!" security would shout) to their place.
As American musician and singer-songwriter Jack Kays took the stage as the first support, a pull of excitement came from the crowd who seemed enamoured by his sound.
A duality unforeseen filled the venue; pirouetting between Midwest emo and post-hardcore songs, Kays delivered a tasting menu of his discography that left an intriguing aftertaste.
Eloquently flirting between his inner thoughts on American patriotism, making it as an artist, and unrequited love, Kays compellingly drew the crowd into a bubble of exorcism despite his little stage presence.
To complete his set, Kays gifted the crowd with a hard-hitting new song titled 'I've Got A Gun' – in which saw the movement within the mosh halt in shock and awe. Truly leaving a place in the minds of everyone present, Kays performed with the intention to render us transformed before exiting the stage.
That power leaves no doubt Jack Kays will exit Australia with a collective of fans awaiting his return.
By the time American post-hardcore band Movements took the stage, the crowd had settled. Now infected, their limbs moved in tandem to vocalist Patrick Miranda's energy that painted the stage for the entirety of their 11-track set.
The band, illuminated by light kisses of orange and red, took the full opportunity to convey the comprehensive strength of their capabilities. Taunting guitar lines that gripped nerves, spine-curling drum grooves, and hypnotic bass waves paved a journey through their catalogue.
One particular song, 'I Hope You Choke!' was so beloved, a member of the crowd could not wait before adding it immediately to their Spotify playlist. Denting themselves into the memory of everyone in the venue, Movements primed the stage for a night of high energy from the headliner, Pierce The Veil.
Lit by five logos, to represent the five pivotal albums that would be explored this evening, each member of Pierce The Veil entered the stage under a chorus of throaty, audience screams and blood-red lighting that switched to yellow as they played the intro of 'Death Of An Executioner'.
Instantly, the band's bass player Jaime Preciado conducted the crowd's anticipation, taking to a platform to orchestrate their excitement and shoot some excited smiles into the crowd.
By the chorus, the whole band settled into rhythm like riding a bike. Flitting between both sides of the stage, lead guitarist Tony Perry and Jaime somersaulted off their platforms, tossed guitars to offside techs and met drummer Loniel Robinson for shared yet intimate moments of performance.
Performing the high-energy hits 'Death Of An Executioner','Bulls In The Bronx' and 'Pass The Nirvana' to warm the crowd up, it felt unneeded. As someone had said early in the night, this was their era's tour, we were all veterans laced in nostalgia and ready to be rocked before the day even started.
Pierce The Veil - image © Abbey Carter
Throughout the room, mascara and eyeliner was running – whether it was from the intense heat from the concurrent movement or overwhelming emotion, it didn't matter.
Frontman Vic Fuentes siphoned every emotion possible from the audience and mirrored it in his own glassy eyes. His voice, laced in perfectly aged ardour, struck every note and whine with intended effect, proving the band's own veteran experience as performers.
As they twirled and head-banged their way through their history, the screen behind them introduced each era with visuals married with the albums.
There was no need to entice audience engagement with the voices of the audience so raw, the harmonies of 'Floral & Fading', 'Yeah Boy And Doll Face' and 'I Don't Care If You're Contagious' ricocheted around the venue to make any music school teacher proud.
Pierce The Veil - image © Abbey Carter
The band, either high off the crowd's energy or elated with touring excitement, gleamed the entire evening. For the audience, revisiting a history of music that proved to be lifesaving, life changing and life itself was transcendental. One can only surmise that for the creators themselves, the feeling was mutual.
Nearing the end of the set list, the audience managed to stifle any tears and regain zeal to move to the classic 'Hell Above' and crowd favourites 'So Far So Fake' and 'Emergency Contact'.
Mouthing lyrics directly to the audience, Jaime became a conduit of the music, body rolling to the melodies while Vic, Loniel and Tony channelled everything into their instruments. Then, when you thought the band had nothing left to give, they gave an indelible performance of 'King For A Day'.
With the lighting back to white and their backdrop red, they started with a slowed, teasing, stripped-back version of the chorus while both guitarists took position and Vic walked to the back of the stage.
Pierce The Veil - image © Abbey Carter
Here, the band's prowess was on full display for the last time of the evening. The crowd, drunk with admiration for a band that for some has been their entire life, overpowered Vic's vocals many times – feeling every syllable in their bones.
Leading into the final guitar solo of the evening, the lights dimmed and the stage flooded with fog and red lighting. It was here Jaime delivered the guttural lines that mark the song as renowned before once again the band and the crowd conjoined to deliver the final lines of the night.
For Pierce The Veil and their fans, this tour serves as a love letter to their music and its place in life's journey. Nearly selling out the entirety of their Australian tour, it comes as no surprise their music has a place here.
- written by Rhi Trowbridge
